Kuwait summons Iran envoy

Base link to Baghdad hit criticized

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 25, (Agencies): Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the Iranian ambassador to Kuwait, Mohammad Irani, where he met with Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah.

During the meeting, Al-Jarallah denounced the repeated statement by the commander of the Air Force in the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, in which he stated that Ali Al-Salem’s base in Kuwait participated among other bases in the region in the operation that was executed near Baghdad airport recently.

Al-Jarallah expressed Kuwait’s resentment at reiterating such statements again, stressing Kuwait’s categorical denial of the participation of any aircraft launched from Ali Al-Salem base, indicating what was previously denied by the General Staff of the Army in a statement on the participation of any of the Kuwaiti bases in this operation.

Al-Jarallah urged the Iranian ambassador to clarify to the officials in Iran about the reality of the aforementioned Kuwait position and that such statements that harm the relations between the two countries should not be repeated.

The meeting was attended by Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs, Ambassador Ali Al-Saeed, and Assistant Foreign Minister for Deputy Minister’s Office, Ambassador Ayham AlOmar.

Iranian accusations that Kuwait allowed the use of Ali AlSalem air base to assassinate General Qassem Soleimani on Iraqi territory took a new turn after the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Air Force issued a statement in this regard, reports AlQabas daily.

The statement said, “The Air Force was following the drone that targeted Soleimani near the

Baghdad airport from the moment it took off from the Kuwaiti territory until the point of assassination.”

These accusations have elicited angry reactions in the political circles, amid increasing demands for a clear and specific Kuwaiti position towards the statement and work to prevent similar recurrences during times of events and crises in the region, to which Kuwait is not a party.

Two strategic and political affairs experts affirmed that these Iranian accusations are totally unfounded, considering them to be a provocation and an attempt by Tehran to put pressure on the country, and “we must beware of any reaction.”